Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)
thumb|link=Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated romantic comedy film directed by Clyde Geronimi and produced by Walt Disney. It is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault and Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm. It is the 16th film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and was released on January 29, 1959. A remake, ''Maleficent'', followed in 2014. Plot King Stefan's wife, Queen Leah, has recently given birth to a daughter, Aurora. Many are invited to Aurora's christening, including King Hubert and his son Phillip from a neighboring kingdom. It is agreed by the two kings that Aurora and Phillip shall be married when they come of age to unite the two kingdoms. During the christening, the Three Good Fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, arrive to bestow a gift upon Aurora. Flora gives the gift of beauty, Fauna gives the gift of song, but before Merryweather can bestow her own blessing, a sorceress named Maleficent arrives uninvited. Enraged at her lack of invitation to the christening, Maleficent curses Aurora to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die on her sixteenth birthday. The Three Good Fairies are not powerful enough to revoke Maleficent's curse, but Merryweather is able to lessen the curse by casting a spell so that Aurora will only fall asleep, until she is awakened by true loves kiss. Nevertheless, King Stefan orders that all the spinning wheels in the kingdom be burned. The Three Good Fairies then offer to hide Aurora with them in the forest until she turns sixteen, which Stefan and Leah agree to. Sixteen years pass by and Aurora grows into a teenager, while the kingdom rejoices that Maleficent's curse has not been fulfilled. Maleficent, enraged that her minions have yielded no results in retrieving Aurora, sends her pet crow Diablo to locate the princess' whereabouts. Meanwhile, on the eve of Aurora's sixteenth birthday, the three fairies send Aurora out to pick berries while they prepare a birthday cake for her. Aurora befriends several forest animals before encountering an older Prince Phillip, and the two immediately fall in love. Aurora returns to the three fairies, who reveal who they truly are and explain that she is betrothed to Prince Phillip. Unaware that Phillip is the man she met in the forest, Aurora becomes distraught at the prospect of not being able to meet him again. Unbeknownst to Aurora or the fairies, Diablo successfully manages to locate Aurora's location and sets off to tell Maleficent. Meanwhile, King Hubert has returned to Stefan's kingdom to prepare for Aurora's return, but Prince Phillip arrives and reveals his intentions to marry the peasant girl he met in the forest. King Hubert is enraged at this, unaware that the peasant girl is Aurora. Meanwhile, the three fairies lead Aurora to the kingdom through a secret entrance so that she may reunite with her parents, but Aurora is still upset at not being able to meet the man in the forest again. The fairies briefly leave Aurora alone, allowing Maleficent to put Aurora in a trance and lead her into a secret passage in the castle, where Aurora pricks her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel. The three fairies arrive just as Aurora is put into an enchanted sleep, and Maleficent gloats over her victory and teleports out of the castle. Distraught, the fairies place Aurora on a bed and put the entire kingdom into an enchanted sleep until Aurora is awakened. Maleficent abducts Phillip and imprisons him in her dungeon, explaining her plan to release him when he is elderly so he may awaken Aurora. Once she leaves, the three fairies arrive and free Phillip, knowing that he is the only one who can break Maleficent's curse. Armed with the Shield of Virtue and the Sword of Truth, Phillip battles his way through Maleficent's domain, aided by the fairies. During the confrontation with Phillip and Maleficent's minions, Diablo is turned to stone by the fairies. Phillip and the fairies then set off towards King Stefan's castle, but Maleficent attacks them. After her initial attacks fail, Maleficent transports herself in front of Phillip and transforms into a dragon to confront him. During the battle, Maleficent sets the forest on fire, forcing Phillip to flee onto a cliff, where Maleficent corners him. As Maleficent prepares to kill him, the fairies guide the Sword of Truth into Maleficent's heart, killing her. With Maleficent vanquished, Phillip arrives at Stefan's kingdom and awakens Aurora with a kiss, which also awakens the kingdom. As the kingdom celebrates, Phillip and Aurora share a dance as their parents and the fairies watch. Cast *Mary Costa as Princess Aurora. *Bill Shirley as Prince Phillip. *Eleanor Audley as Maleficent. *Verna Felton as Flora. *Barbara Luddy as Merryweather. *Barbara Jo Allen as Fauna. *Taylor Holmes as King Stefan. *Bill Thompson as King Hubert. Gallery Sleeping Beauty diamond edition cover.jpg Category:Films Category:Walt Disney Pictures films Category:Romance films Category:Comedy films Category:Musical films Category:Fantasy films Category:Children and family films Category:G-rated films Category:Disney films Category:Buena Vista Distribution films Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Films Based on Fairy Tales Category:1959 films Category:English-language films Category:American films Category:1950s films